Face-and-head protector



dAug. 25, 1931. R. MALcoM mcs AND HEAD PROTECTOR Filed Feb. 1.` 1929 IPatented Aug. 25, .1931' I ,"Roinnrfirencompor' (Hermano,v ILLINOIS'FACE-AND-HEAJJ PROTECTOR.

ENT

Application 4filed February 1, 1929.l Serial` No. 336,898,V f f Theseimprovements relate to face-and workman becomes Aexceedingly y dirty,`and K otherwise' suffers discomfort and disadvantage during this kind ofwork. At somey ers face from extreme side to lside thereof, i and itaords'free and unobstructed vision i' when in .use, y

places attempts have been made to yovercome such bad effects'in partthrough the use of goggles and respirators. v

'While Iam aware that various kinds of head-and-face protectors I haveheretofore been suggested for various purposes, Iam not aware thatanyone heretofore has suggested:

a shield for the head parts which Vis lsatisfactory 'under theconditions mentioned.-

To overcome the disadvantages and limitationsl of goggles, respiratorsand suchother forms of protectors as I have known, I have and easilyapplied and removed; one which is of notably light weight; one whichholds itself comfortably yet firmly in its desiredy one which affordsfull `scope of the work.v mans vision; one which, nits preferred form,protects the upper head parts Aand also. the throat parts, as well asthe side parts .of the head; lone whichr is formedto cooperate withtheapron', overall-*s orthe like lworn by tiontohis clothes and body;one which may `be of notably low cost; fone which, with reasonable care,has

' which is simple construction';"and one whichfma'y bey made from.:materials readily obtainable',`land be made a'ccodingto ordin-v arymanufacturing :practicesQ Other objects and advantageswill'appearhereinaftera A y y In `he `drawings vvFigure l isa sideelevation of the device complete in"l what ".,I knffqw con- `of metaland other substances.

provided a protector which is very readily the workman to give thedesired full protec long life in servicef; one

ceive tobe its most advantageous formFig.`

2 is-'a horizontal section ontheline 2 2 of `Fig. 1; and I"ig.,3 isanfenlarged sectional and fragmentary detail of the vsupporting meansand associated The device illustrated includes the pro;y

parts. f

tec'ting window -10 of thin, flexible, `lightwelght and transparentlmaterial such as Celluloid, pyrolin or the like. 4Its upper margin is'atll and its lower-margin is at 12, while its lateral margins are at v13.Itthus extends high enough and .downwardly andy laterally enough toextend around the wearl With the device normally applied, i wearer maylook in all directionsquite as unobstructedly as if thedevice were notpresent.

This makesfor a` veryunusualdegree of comfort to the wearer,1ncomparison with the use of goggles, respirators or other1sight limitingdevices. 'It' mans efficiency. In

`point out that confininv the vision is consclously o r unconscious yirritating tothe adds also to the. work-` this connection I- may mind,gives thehdistressing eect of being limited, constrained,

hemmed in, and.v that such effects are cumulative and render the workmanless eiicient and less happy. The .freedom of vision of thepresent-,device is a Very notableand important factor ofthe advantagesobtained.

The material surro is preferably soft and flexible--preferably undingthe windowy some sort'of fabric. In my practice itis-thin fabricsurfacedwith la coating of waterproofing material, and `of a kindxwell-kIlQWD. un-

der various names `and of dii'erentvarieties.

Such materials mayv be describedv generally as oil cloth-.. 1 I use a`black,` soft, flexible, pebbled variety, having a; good appearance.

The"dirt-accumulatingon itimay readily be washed away, and thusthe wholeouter surface `'of the protector-mayfeasi'lybemainf tained clean. Y

sides ofthe device'. l

"It 'shown asffbeing 100 like stitched at 11 to the window-sheet 10. Itoverlies the transparent sheet and defines the top of the window.

Above the band-like'part 14 is a canopy or cover 15, of the samematerial. It is shown as being stitched at 15a, to the top edge of theband 14.

At each side of the device is a protecting extension 16, of the samefabric material, shaped as illustrated and giving further rotection tothe sides of the head. These apparts 16 are stitched at the lines marked13 and 14a (Fig. 1) to the window materia-l 10 and to the band-likehead-protecting part 14 respectively. The oppositely-disposed flaps orextensions 16 extend respectively from the top'rof the band 14 to thelower part of the device.

At the llower portion of the device the window material 10'is stitchedto a sort of pocketlike formation 17, of the same fabric material, andthis part 17 is stitched also to the part 16. There is also athroat-protecting part 18, of the same flexible fabric material,stitched to the chin-encompassing part 17.

At the various ex osed edges, and also at the meeting'edges, o ltheseveral parts of the protector body thus described, there is bindingmaterial of fabric, and which in all instances is marked 20, denoting acommon fea- -ture of construction. Such binding or edging as 20 isprovided for finish and greater security and is merely a detail ofsuitable manufacture.

Means for supporting the device on the wearers head include a head-bandcomprising first a substantially U-shaped band 21 of substantiallystiff, yet light material such as liber, and this liber piece is encasedin an envelope 22, 23 (Fig. 3) which is suitablyof thin leather as tothe inner side 23 and the oil cloth material as to the outer side 22.There is a' sweat band 24 overlying in part the side 23 of the envelope.The rest of the head band as shown is an elastic part 25-of ordinaryelastic tape or band material.

Stitched to the envelope 22, 23 is an apronlike piece 26, which as shownin Fig. 1 engages tle top of the wearers head and limits downwardmovement of the deviceas a whole when in use. It also forms, with thehead band, a pocket into which the head com' fortably fits, and there isthus provided such a firm seating of rthe device that the wearer maymove about and turn his head even quickly Without throwing the deviceawry and without the wearers experiencing the uncomfortable feeling ofslippage and disf' location. In short, due to the notable li htness ofthe device as a whole and the rm seating on the wearers head, the devicecan be worn with but comparatively little consciousness of its presence.

The head band is held within the hollow interior of the body by aframework consistand extending forwardly and downwardly therefrom and isriveted to the front of the head band. This frame-work 27, 28 and thehead band is supported as a unit by the wire stays or stanchions 29 infront and 30 at the sides, severally riveted or otherwise held to thebody of the device as shown. The frame 27, 28 not only holds theheadband open and in shape for easy applicationto the wearers head, but italso cooperates to hold the face covering material in its desired shape.Lightness and strength are very important. The central frame 27, 28enables the U-sliaped band 14 to be made thin and light, and a featureof the construction in general is the ex-v frame member 28 and struts 29are bracing elements which cooperate in holding the face coveringmaterial strongly in `its desired relation `to the head band.

The wire element 32 serves as a convenient handle. for carrying,applying and removing the device; but its chief object is to provide aprotecting rest or extension which holds the window covering 10 awayfrom the bench' on which the device may be rested or tumbled about.

If so desired, various types of fastening or holding means may beemployed to provide that such ele-ments or parts as the top or cover,the window 10, the throat protector 18, the flaps 16, and the head-piecemay be readily removed; and, in general, I contemplate as being includedin the invention all such chan es'and departures from what is thus specically illustrated and described as fall within the scope ofthe-appendedclaims.

I claim: l

' 1. A face-and-head protector of thel char,

acter described comprising a window element of transparent thin andflexible material substantially the height of the wearers face and bowedsubstantially U-shaped in top View and extending rearward at the sidessuflii to said window element at the bottom thereof,

a flexible throat-protecting flap secured to said chin-protecting partand extending downwardly and rearwardly therefrom, and

means for holding the window element and its associated parts upon thewearers head, said means including a substantially stiff U- shapedband-like member open rearwardly, with means Jfor holding same in spacedrelation to and within the confines of said window element, flexiblemeans adapted to rest upon the top of the wearers head for limiting thedownward movement of said band-like member, and band means for thewearers head extending rearward from said U-shaped member to completetherewith a band for encompassing the Wearers head.

Q. In a face-and-head protector of the character described, supportingstructure comprising a U-shaped head band of substantially stiffmaterial adapted to it around the forward portions of the wearers head,with `means extending rearward from said band and adapted to coacttherewith to form a complete band surrounding the wearers a transversesul)- ahead, a frame comprising stantially U-shaped member of sti andstrong material rigidly secured at its ends to the arms of said U-shapedband and extending therefrom normally above the wearers head and aforwardly-and-downwardly-elitending frameimember of stii and strongmaterial rigidly secured to the U-shaped frame member at the top thereofand to the U-shaped head band at the front thereof, together with facecovering mea-ns and means securing said supporting structure to theface-covering means` an aprondike member carried by the head and form apocket therefor and to limit the downward movement of the device as awhole relative to the wearers head when the device is normally in use. 4

3. A protector of the `character described comprising a protector properadapted to encompass portions of the wearers face and head when thedevice is normally in use, and a supporting structure for holding theprotector proper uponthe wearers head, said structure including a frame,with means securing said frame to the protector in spaced relation, bandmeans carried by the frame and adapted to encompass the wearers head,

and an apron-like member carried by said band means and adapted tocontact the top of the wearers head and form a pocket therefor to limitthe downward movement of the device as a whole relativeto the wearershead when the device is normallyT in use. f

ROBERT MALCOM.

U-shaped head band and adapted to contact the top of the wearers'

